#tax-planning
Strategic tax planning to minimize liability and maximize savings
Revoking an S election takes a signed statement from shareholders holding more than 50% of shares, received by March 15 for a January 1 effective date, and it bars re-election for five tax years. This guide covers the required statement contents, mid-year short-year splits, the Section 1374 built-in gains tax on appreciated assets, and the post-termination window for tax-free AAA distributions.
Brazil's IBS/CBS dual VAT replaces five consumption taxes, and a Simples Nacional supplier now passes on a smaller input credit than a regular-regime competitor quoting the same price. A guide to the September 30 and November 1, 2026 deadlines, the 2027 end of cash-basis Simples, and what the credit chain changes in B2B pricing and bookkeeping.
Michigan's motor fuel excise tax rose from 31 to 52.4 cents per gallon on January 1, 2026, while the 6% sales tax on fuel disappeared — a swap that costs more below a $3.57 pump price and less above it. Here is the breakeven math, the fleet-level dollar impact, and five recalculations covering cost per mile, surcharges, reimbursements, IFTA filings, and fuel bookkeeping.
For tax years beginning in 2026 the Section 448(c) gross-receipts threshold is $32 million, up from $31 million. OBBBA adds a reported $80 million lane for qualifying manufacturers and lets small businesses elect retroactive 2022–2024 R&D expensing under Section 174A by July 6, 2026 — here is the threshold math, who is forced onto accrual, and how a method change works.
A qualified sponsorship payment is tax-free under IRC Section 513(i), while advertising revenue is taxed at the 21% UBIT rate and triggers Form 990-T once unrelated business income reaches $1,000. This guide draws the acknowledgment-versus-advertising line the regulations use — qualitative language, price claims, exclusive-provider clauses, periodical placements, contingent amounts, and the 2% de minimis threshold for return benefits — and gives an eight-step screen to run before signing a sponsor contract.
An S corporation distribution is tax-free only to the extent of the Accumulated Adjustments Account once the company carries C-corporation earnings and profits. This guide covers what moves AAA up and down, the four-step distribution ordering rules, a worked $40,000 example with two opposite outcomes, and five bookkeeping mistakes that turn owner draws into taxable dividends.
Section 1234A treats gain or loss from the cancellation, lapse, or termination of a right in capital-asset property as capital — so a forfeited earnest-money deposit is usually a short-term capital loss, a lapsed option premium is short-term capital gain, and a merger break fee is a capital loss capped at $3,000 of ordinary income per year for individuals. Services contracts, Section 1231 business property, and debt retirements fall outside the statute and stay ordinary.
Eligible K-12 educators deduct up to $300 of unreimbursed classroom expenses on the 2025 return and $350 for 2026, plus a new itemized layer for spending above the cap — after clearing the 900-hour test and subtracting reimbursements and tax-free funding.
From 1 April 2027 New Zealand raises its Non-Resident Contractors Tax exemption from $15,000 to $75,000 per 12-month period and tests it per payer rather than in aggregate. Here is how the 15% withholding works today, how the US–NZ treaty stops it at the source, and why 15.3% self-employment tax still applies with no totalization agreement in place.
An accrual-basis employer can deduct year-end bonuses in the year earned only if employees actually receive the money within 2½ months after year-end — March 15 for calendar-year businesses. The deduction also requires a liability fixed by December 31 under the all-events test, and it fails for bonuses owed to related parties under Section 267 regardless of payment timing.
In 2026 the Social Security retirement earnings test withholds $1 of benefits for every $2 earned above $24,480 before full retirement age, and $1 for every $3 above $65,160 in the year you reach FRA. Wages and net self-employment profit count; pensions, IRA withdrawals, dividends, and rental income do not — and withheld benefits are credited back through a higher monthly check at FRA.
Since 2005, the IRS has limited most vehicle donation deductions to the charity's actual sale proceeds reported on Form 1098-C — not Blue Book value. This guide covers the $500 and $5,000 paperwork thresholds, the three exceptions that allow full fair market value, and why a fully depreciated work truck can produce a $0 deduction plus taxable recapture income.
